The group had avoided electoral politics until recently. It endorsed a presidential candidate for the first time in 2004, when it supported Democratic Senator John Kerry. It also supported some Democratic gubernatorial candidates in 2006. “To keep our doors open," said Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, "it's clear that we need to step into the electoral arena.”
Two of the oldest judges on the Supreme Court are abortion supporters. A Republican victor in 2008 could replace them with justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that mandated legalized abortion nationwide. Five of the nine sitting Supreme Court justices are considered to be Roe v. Wade supporters.
Richards said she believed Planned Parenthood could rally young, unmarried independent and Democratic women with its database of four million people, five million annual visitors, and 10 million annual web site viewers. Planned Parenthood will fund political advertisements for candidates and organize paid staffers and volunteers to canvass voters door-to-door.